Category Archives: NHL Hockey News

Morris overcame early-season knee troubles to be a crucial contributor and scored 21 points in Boston’s Game 1 win Sunday.

Signed Daniel Theis out of Germany to a minimum-salary contract. Theis emerged as a key rotation player before tearing his meniscus in mid-March.

Signed Aron Baynes to a one-year, $4.3 million deal after he turned down a $6.5 million option in Detroit. Baynes has cemented himself as a full-time starter who adds muscle to a back line and eases the defensive load on Horford.

Alex Avila (L), 1 percent, Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals (RHP Jeremy Hellickson): On Saturday, Avila draws the platoon advantage against Hellickson, one of the lowest-ranked hurlers on the slate — and a pitcher who posted a nearly identical ERA (5.43) and K/9 (5.27) in 30 starts last season. The Arizona backstop is off to a slow start, but he sported a .377 wOBA versus righties in 2017.

Brandon McCarthy (R), 12 percent, Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds: The Athletic’s Eno Sarris notes McCarthy has added a slider to his arsenal, with encouraging results. The pitch is harder, and breaks a little less than his curve, giving hitters something else to think about. The last thing the Reds need is something else to think about as they sit in the bottom five when it comes to wOBA versus righties.

Vince Velasquez (R), 15 percent, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: Speaking of former prospects trying to regain some status, Velasquez is off to a nice start. He was knocked around in his debut (seven runs allowed, four earned), but has reeled off three quality starts since then, totaling a 2.41 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 19 innings. The Diamondbacks are no pushovers, but Velasquez at his best handles anyone. He can miss bats, limit walks and get relatively deep into games.

Jack Flaherty (R), 21 percent, St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates: Flaherty’s rotation spot will be in jeopardy once Adam Wainwright returns from the disabled list, so let’s take advantage of the young righty while we can.

The “under construction’’ sign affixed to the offensive line cannot be taken down just yet, even with the free agent signing of Nate Solder to play left tackle and Patrick Omameh to move in as a starting guard. A need and desire remains to add talent the Giants will do so early in this draft. Keep an eye in the second round on Will Hernandez of UTEP, a mauler who could start at guard from Day 1. Depth at offensive tackle could also use upgrading.

“All we have to do is look across the street, in a couple of different directions. You look across the street the other way and see a young, blossoming basketball team in the playoffs. This story has played out over the last couple of years in Philadelphia with a great deal of success. We’re hopefully following in the footsteps of those two teams.”

At the outset of his three-year contract with the Phillies, Kapler is simply trying to manage the demands on his time and the grip the job has on his emotions and his psyche. At Yankees’ spring training, Boone shared the observation that he has had more “job-specific” dreams than anyone could have imagined. Kapler can relate.

This year is different, though, and the Giants — who have not had a selection this high in the draft since 1981 — have already monitored all the top quarterbacks and will bring them in as part of the 30 visits they are allowed. That means Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield will make their way to New Jersey in the coming days and weeks. Saquon Barkley, the top running back in this year’s draft, is also expected in for a visit.

The Giants have already met and watched these quarterbacks at the scouting combine and their individual Pro Days and, in some cases, already gone out to dinner with them. This does not mean the Giants will take any of them, but due diligence is a must. Before they sign off or discount a quarterback, the Giants will make sure they know everything about every one of them. They are also paying close attention to Barkley, defensive end Bradley Chubb and guard Quenton Nelson, who are expected to be the top three players on the draft board.

That board has not yet been assembled. In fact, the scouts were recalled this week, as the extensive draft meetings started up Wednesday and will continue through April 18. Scouts, coaches and team executives will meet and put together the draft board, assigning values to every player deemed to be draft-worthy. Only then will the Giants’ draft strategy come into full focus.

The Patriots traded for receiver Brandin Cooks last year. New England had hoped to extend his contract, but it didn’t happen.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Cooks and the Patriots were too far apart. Cooks decided that he’s comfortable finishing his rookie contract and potentially becoming a free agent at the age of 25. Already, he has three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons in four career years.

Most importantly, Cooks instantly had a 1,000-yard year in New England’s offense, which isn’t always the easiest system for an outside receiver to come in and master. In L.A., Cooks could explode.

“The recovery industry took a turn for the worse when people found out that the urine testing billing was lucrative, and the wrong people got in the industry to enrich themselves,” Woods says.

It was the perfect storm. Patient brokers and marketers would lure addicts with good insurance into unregulated sober homes with the promise of cheap rent and a less-structured environment. Patients’ insurance companies would then be billed tens of thousands of dollars for often unnecessary drug treatment.

Via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune, McCaskey’s son George said his mother changed her dinner plans Sunday at the owners meetings so she could see Loyola’s unlikely advance to the Final Four with a win over Kansas State.

“I said, ‘Mom, dinner is at 5:30,’” George McCaskey said. “And she said, ‘Hmmm, tip off is at 6:09, so I think I’m going to get room service.”

“Well, Mom is a little shier than Sister Jean is,” George joked. “I think she’d be happy to defer to Sister Jean.”

“It’s one thing to have an addiction and not being able to overcome it because the addiction overtakes you … but then when bad people get involved and they contribute to it, it makes you sick,” Ken says.

Each of the last two times they lost the Super Bowl, the Pats failed to make it back there the next year. In 2008, New England missed the postseason entirely because of the one thing that strikes soul-freezing dread into the hearts of everyone from fans to Darth Hoodie himself.

I’ve already had a conversation with him that when that time comes up, you could see him in center field at some point, Boone said.

Third baseman Brandon Drury and first baseman Tyler Austin also are potential backup corner outfielders.

The one great thing is everybody’s willing to do whatever it takes to do whatever’s in the best interest of the club, Cashman said. We’ll figure it out, and we’ll have probably a new configuration [Sunday] and be ready to go and hopefully win [Sunday’s] game.

Get the quarterback who completed over 70 percent of his passes for 326 yards in a Week 15 blowout of the Texans, and the Jaguars can beat any team in the NFL. With that stifling defense and Leonard Fournette running the ball, Jacksonville could represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIII.

But if the Jaguars get the Bortles who threw three interceptions the following week in San Francisco or the player who struggled with accuracy against the Bills and Steelers, the team will fall far short of Super Bowl contention.

For a quarterback with a career completion percentage of 59.1 and 64 interceptions across his 62 career regular-season games, it’s all about accuracy and turnovers.

Tillman had retired five in a row when Gonzalez led off the fourth with a drive to right for his first homer of the season. Brian McCann hit a one-out single and scored when a triple by Derek Fisher sailed just out of reach of center fielder Adam Jones.

After falling short of his 30,000 point milestone in Saturday’s ugly 148-124 loss to the Thunder, the Cavaliers star said his team wouldn’t last long if the postseason were to begin now.

“Playoffs? We can’t even start thinking about that, not the way we’re playing right now,” James said after the game, via ESPN. “We could easily get bounced early in the playoffs if they started next weekend. Haven’t even began thinking about the postseason.”

The majority of Bridges’ college attempts are spot-up chances, frequently from one of the two corners. However, he’s shown an increased propensity to shoot off movement this season, which could make him a more creative offensive threat in the NBA. After finishing just 16 possessions off screens in his first two seasons, he’s finished 12 that way already as a junior and ranks fourth nationally among players with at least 10 attempts at 1.917 points per possession, per Synergy.

Even if all Bridges accomplishes at the next level is good defense and efficient 3-point shooting, he’ll be a valuable piece. Consider, just seven NBA players this season standing between 6-6 and 6-8 are taking more than 5.0 3-point attempts per 36 minutes, making them at a 36.0 percent clip and posting a positive Defensive Box Plus/Minus. Five of them have a positive real-plus minus, according to ESPN, suggesting they contribute to winning basketball. All of them have a positive VORP.

Durant and Golden State have more room to talk as three-time reigning Western Conference champions. As for Capela, Durant believes his “easy” role within the Rockets’ offense prompted him to make such comments.

“You hear from guys like Capela. Usually, he’s catching the ball and laying it up from [Chris Paul] or James Harden,” Durant said. “His job is not as hard. When your job is that hard, you know you can’t just come out and say s— like that.

“I don’t expect that from [Chris Paul] and James [Harden] and [Trevor] Ariza and the rest of the guys] because they know how hard it is to come out and do it every night. Capela, catch and dunk every night, it’s pretty easy.”

The Rams running back, who led the NFL with 2,093 yards from scrimmage, was announced as the winner at the NFL Honors show in Minneapolis.

Moss, former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher were elected in their first year of eligibility.

Former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, former Packers guard Jerry Kramer, former Oilers linebacker Robert Brazile, and former executive Bobby Beathard join Lewis, Moss, Owens and Urlacher in this year’s Hall of Fame class.

The 2018 class will officially be inducted in Canton on Aug. 4.

The Players Coalition, meanwhile, showed large splits in philosophy and strategy, according to a detailed report from The Undefeated before the Super Bowl. The fates of some players who continued to protest could be in jeopardy; the 49ers’ Eric Reid has said he would not be surprised if he goes unsigned in free agency, and Michael Bennett could possibly see the same if the Seahawks release him for age or cap reasons.

Meanwhile, in the offseason after a backup quarterback, Nick Foles, won a Super Bowl after beating former backup Case Keenum in the NFC title game, Kaepernick is a long shot to get signed again. His collusion grievance is still pending, and there are sure to be fireworks as that evolves.

The Eagles’ win should have proven to everybody that there’s nothing for teams, the league or the fans to fear from a social consciousness — and that maybe there’s something to embrace, for the good of the sport and of the nation.

Take the 2013 NFL Draft. Though the previous year produced some first-round flops, the 2012 draft still produced its share of stars: Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, Luke Kuechly, Josh Norman. But not the 2013 draft. The best player it has produced is second-round pick Le’Veon Bell. Several first-round picks already are absolute busts. Some picks have proven to be solid, even Pro Bowlers. But they’re not stars, and the vast majority are ho-hum.

It may have been only four years ago, but we’re pretty confident in calling the 2013 NFL Draft the worst of the past 25 years. Just take a look at each of the first-round picks and you’ll see why.

There was only one good thing to come from Buffalo’s first-round playoff loss for Eric Wood.

The chance to see the birth of his son Garrett.

The lone thing that could have made the moment better: Buffalo still being alive in the Super Bowl hunt. Those dreams ended following a 10-3 loss to the Jaguars.

It was a special year, said Wood, whose Bills ended the NFL’s longest active postseason drought at 17 seasons with a wild-card berth. We’re not happy with the way it ended. We felt we had a very winnable game down in Jacksonville and really just laid an egg on offense, which is tough to swallow now. But it was great to get over the hump and get into the playoffs.

Plus, Wood’s season might not be over yet. He said he will represent the AFC in the upcoming Pro Bowl if Maurkice Pouncey declines his invitation to play.

Now, Bengals fans are paying it forward with donations to Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles’ charity, the BB5 Foundation, for ending the hated Steelers’ season. The donations were initiated by Cincinnati radio host Mo Egger and have grown to more than $5,000, according to First Coast News in Jacksonville.

Fans are at the core of the football experience and it’s truly exciting and rewarding when they band together, regardless of the team they cheer for, to make a positive impact in the lives of others, Bortles said in a statement. I greatly appreciate the support displayed by Bengals fans and they should know their support will make a difference.

The Lakers (17-29) have regrouped following a nine-game losing streak and won their past two games and six of eight. They matched their largest margin of victory in a 127-107 win against the visiting New York Knicks on Sunday.

There’s no more bye weeks and it’s time for Thanksgiving, which means playoff scenario season is on the way.

In Week 11, the teams at the top again held serve with the Eagles, Patriots, Steelers and Saints all earning wins again. The big game of the week ended up being a pretty comfortable, 24-7, victory for the Vikings over the Rams.

His six seasons a Kings uniform marked the most successful period team history, including a league-high 61 wins 2001 and a trip to the Conference Finals.To be able to get him, a that we had second on our board at that position — I Wholesale Jerseys think he dropped because of some issues with his knee.As a rookie 2012, Griffin appeared 15 and completed 65 percent of his passes for 3 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.The franchise quarterback.

I ‘t believe he is saying this with any malice.I always told him to be careful, said Martinez, who recalled Ventura as intense and very cheerful.tb12bestqbevah says: 15 12 PM Wow.Two weeks later, McFadden squatted 405 pounds five times.Bellotti was the offensive coordinator for a time under , and was offensive coordinator under Bellotti, while Helfrich was offensive coordinator under .Altogether, only eight players of any position, age or status finished with more points than Rantanen.

Reid said that Colin Kaepernick had been kicked out, and that Jenkins left him and Thomas out of the discussion with the NFL. Kaepernick did not attend the group’s first meeting with the NFL, but was later invited to a second meeting after having filed his collusion grievance against the NFL under the collective bargaining agreement in mid-October. Reid also didn’t approve of how it was being run.

“They understood the entire scope of the plan. The last time we had conversations with (Roger) Goodell and Troy Vincent, Michael Thomas and Eric Reid were on that call. They understood the proposal. What we didn’t have was a conversation with players in the coalition based on some of the responses that we got from the league. We then talked about myself contracting Troy Vincent just to give them some updates on some of our feedback, which I did. That call did not have Mike or Eric on it. Everybody kind of agreed to that.”

For his career, Okafor caused 7 fumbles and blocked a kick.Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the same intelligence committee, argues just the opposite: Something very big be going on here, and the American people need to know more, not less, about it.

Antonio Brown missed Steelers practice Friday and Saturday with a toe injury and is listed as questionable for Monday night’s matchup with the Bengals.

The league disputed Jones’ claims with a very direct shot at him.

“Your description of the proposed extension is so at odds with the actual facts that we can only conclude that you are either uninformed or seek deliberately to mislead the other owners.”

When news first broke that Jones was threatening to sue, it was not at all clear what the basis was for the potential lawsuit. This letter clarifies it — he’s trying to get the contract out of the committee’s hands and back to the full group of owners, in the hopes that he can rally enough of them to block Goodell’s deal and send the commissioner packing.

The Jaguars have gotten the ball back with the game still tied. Once again, Blake Bortles has a chance to be the hero, which is to say: He throws another interception. Phil Dawson kicks a 57-yard field goal and the Cardinals win.

As the games wrap up, I knead the mixture that will become tonight’s meatloaf. I won’t go into my mother’s full recipe although putting a recipe at the end of 4000 words of derivative bullshit would make this a typical internet recipe but the combination of ground beef, ground pork, raw egg, bread crumbs, and various sauces and spices is less than pleasant.

It gets better as I go, though, and after I shape the loaf and wash my hands, I put the pan in the oven and watch RedZone’s touchdown montage. It goes on a little too long, but then, so do most things about the NFL.

Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston missed last week’s game against the Jets with a shoulder injury, but coach Dirk Koetter expects his star back on the field at some point this season.

The Bucs (3-6) are last in the NFC South and three games behind the Seahawks for the final wild-card spot. Winston is out this week against the Dolphins.

“Ryan Fitzpatrick will be our starter this week, we know that much because Jameis will be out again this week,” Koetter said. “And Ryan Griffin will go into the week as a backup. If the opportunity ever presented itself, it would be good while we have this situation to get Ryan Griffin into a game and he’s been doing well in practice.

“But it would never be just because we want to see him get into a game. It would have to be the right opportunity and we’ll have to see if that ever comes up or not.”

NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent texted Kaepernick on Oct. 31 to see if he would be willing to meet individually with commissioner Roger Goodell, ESPN.com reported Tuesday.

Vincent wanted to tell Kaepernick about the talks between team owners and players and the progress being made when the invitation was extended.

Kaepernick has yet to give an answer about meeting Goodell, according to the report.

The text comes against the backdrop of the grievance Kaepernick filed against the league at the beginning of October under the collective bargaining agreement, which alleges collusion against the free-agent quarterback to prevent him from signing with an NFL team.

Kaepernick tweeted after filing the grievance that he did so “only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives.”